Rotary cleaning tool for commode surfaces

ABSTRACT

The embodied invention is an enhanced rotary brush tool that provides important cleaning on porcelain surfaces that are stained by hard water deposits. The brush tool incorporates an outer holder that includes a motor connecting end, a tapered shaft, an outer cup and shroud. A fill epoxy bonds the outer holder together with an internal strengthening rod and an abrasive pad. The overall assembly provides significant compressive strength to allow an individual to utilize pressure when scrubbing off the water hardness buildup.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/158,071, filed on May 7, 2015. The entire provisionalpatent application is incorporated by reference herein.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

This invention is directed to cleaning tools useful for scrubbing veryhard debris from porcelain or similar surfaces, with minimal surfacedamage or scratching. In particular, the invention is directed towardcleaning off hardened water deposits off of vitreous china toilets(typically called porcelain).

(2) Description of Related Art

It is an observation that many city water supplies, and private wellwater systems, deliver hard water. Calcium, magnesium, and other hardions are present in water at levels that are undesirable from a cleaningstandpoint. Hard water is to blame for dishes with spots and residue,and bathtubs with significant film and soap scum.

Additionally, the hard water ions create unsightly and unappealing lineson the surface of porcelain commodes. Normal evaporation at the waterline in a commode will leave a noticeable residue after months (oryears) of use. Also, the wetting of the surface from bowl filling aroundthe rim will leave evaporative hardness lines that allows surfacebuildup. The resulting hardness adheres tightly, and the surface willoften turn to colors such as grey or rust. Such surface residues aredifficult to remove with normal scrubbing and cleaning chemicals. Thesurface has the undesirable appearance of being unsanitary, even if ittechnically does not allow bacteria to grow.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,733,852 is a typical scrub brush that is used to clean atoilet from typical residual debris after a toilet is used. A housingprovides a sanitary place to put the brush when not in use. The softbrush is generally capable of providing removal of soft debris, but thebrush is far too soft to remove deposits due to hard water.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,350 and U.S. application Ser. No. 11/772,935 areexamples of chemical attempts to inhibit residue formation or harshchemicals to clean the surfaces. Harsh chemicals are undesirable from acustomer standpoint and are generally undesirable from an environmentalstandpoint.

A pumice stone attached to a handle is one method used to manuallyabrade and remove hard water deposits. However, the manual labor used toremove deposits is significant. Additionally, the pumice stone wearsquickly and is useable for only a few times. A pumice stone is difficultto adapt to a labor saving device, such as a rotary tool, due to theuneven wear. Also, a pumice stone means that the person doing thescrubbing will get their hands wet. This is an undesirable approach.

What is needed is an affordable to satisfactorily clean a toilet bowlring without getting hands wet, minimizes labor by use of a labor savingtool, and is capable of repeated use.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The embodied invention is an enhanced rotary brush tool that providesimportant cleaning on porcelain surfaces that are stained by hard waterdeposits. The brush tool incorporates an outer holder that includes amotor connecting end, a tapered shaft, an outer cup and shroud. A fillepoxy bonds the outer holder together with an internal strengthening rodand an abrasive pad. The overall assembly provides significantcompressive strength to allow an individual to utilize pressure whenscrubbing off stains.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a front view of the rotary brush tool.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the rotary brush tool.

FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of the rotary brush tool.

FIG. 4 is a cross section through FIG. 1 and shows the inner epoxy andinternal rod used to stiffen and glue the various parts together.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the rotary brush tool.

FIG. 6 is a view of the rotary brush tool when connected to the end of arotary drill.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a front view of the rotary brush scrubbing tool. A hex end101 is used to connect the end of the rotary brush scrubbing tool to amotorized drill or similar piece of equipment. The hex end is rigidlyconnected to a tapered shaft 102, which in turn, is rigidly connected toan outer cup 103. The outer cup 103 is connected to a shroud 104 whichsurrounds an abrasive pad 105.

In FIG. 1, the tapered shaft and outer cup are preferably hollow andcapable of receiving a filling/binding epoxy (not shown) that will beused to adhere the abrasive pad. The epoxy is preferably a two-partepoxy with an adhering strength of at least 1,500 psi.

Even though the rotary tool in FIG. 1 is described as individual parts,in production the entire part is preferably made from an injectionmolding machine in one piece for economic efficiency and for betterconnectivity without stress breakage.

The abrasive pad is preferably a Butyl pad with a bonded diamond gritpaste (petroleum based) that is baked on at oven temperatures untildried to create a bond. The grit size is based on the commercial screensize. For example, a 400 diamond grit is the output from a 400 meshcommercial screening process with a nominal opening of 0.0015″. In apreferred embodiment a 400 diamond grit is used. In general, a 300 orhigher grit will provide the abrasion needed. Use of a diamond gritembedded into the Butyl pad provides for abrasive treatment of waterspots with a diamond grit suitable for surface polishing, and alsoprovides for minimize damage and scratching to the external glazesurface of the commode. The paste optionally includes a tin oxide(10000-12000 grit). The efficacy of the paste will last in multiplescrub events, and is preferably designed to withstand at least 30 usesin commode cleaning.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the rotary brush tool. The hex end 101 (ormotor connection) is meant to be a connection to a rotary tool such asan electric drill. The hex end is alternately a square end or round endthat will connect to a rotating motor fixture so that it is capable ofwithstanding torque without damage. To this end, the hex end 101 issolid plastic.

FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of the rotary brush tool highlighting thebrush pad.

FIG. 4 is a cross section through FIG. 1 and shows the inner fill epoxy401 and internal strengthening rod 402 used to glue and stiffen thevarious parts together and increase the compressive strength of therotary brush tool.

FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of the rotary brush tool. An outer holder501, an internal reinforcing rod 502, a fill in epoxy compound 503(shown in the shape in which it is formed by the gap between the outerholder and the internal reinforcing rod), and rotary brush pad 504 areillustrated in perspective view. The assembly is glued together by theepoxy compound 503 which attaches the rotary brush pad to the outerholder.

The internal reinforcing or strengthening rod is buried in the epoxycompound and is an important part of the rotary brush tool. The rodprovides important stiffness and compressive strength to the assemblyand prevents breakage when strong pressure is applied to the rotarybrush pad when it is being used. During initial prototyping, it wasfound that the desired compressive strength was readily achieved withthe rod present, and without it, the outer holder 501 experiencedbreakage in an important initial trial. In a preferred embodiment, thestrengthening rod is a metal, preferably steel. In another preferredembodiment, the rod is advantageously threaded on the exterior so thatthe metal rod is completely and firmly encapsulated by the surroundingepoxy.

The outer holder is preferably made from plastic, ABS in particular wasfound to be acceptable. Other plastics with similar stress propertiescould also be used.

In a preferred embodiment, success in use of the rotary scrubbing brushis based rotating the brush pad with a motor and pressing the brush padagainst the stained surface. The residual water in the base of thecommode provides an acceptable lubrication during the cleaning and thepad will naturally touch the water during cleaning to providelubrication. It is preferred that the application of the brush isgenerally applied to a water wetted surface. During the cleaning action,a small amount of the diamond paste will come out of the brush pad andis easily flushed out of the commode for environmentally safe removal.The amount of diamond paste bonded to the brush pad will dictate howlong the brush pad will be effective.

The shroud is helpful in keeping the pad from excessive spraying waterduring use. It was noted during a trial that a shroud-less pad willspray water in an unacceptable manner when the pad touches the water inthe bottom of the commode. The shroud also helps to increase edgepressure on the brush pad when tipping the rotary scrubbing brushagainst the stained surface. In this case, the edge area of the pad isused for cleaning. This method helps to remove water hardness fromstubborn areas of the commode.

It should be emphasized that use of the rotary scrubbing tool providesimprovements in the cleaning method that are harder to define. Cleaningof minor stains will take only a few minutes, and major stains should beaddressable in 10-15 minutes of work. It is far easier to apply pressureand let a tool do the work than to use a manual scraping method such asa pumice stone. Also, the rotary brush scrubbing tool has a length thatallows a cleaning person to keep their hands out of the commode waterand eliminate the grimy feeling when cleaning the commode surfaces.

It should also be noted that the use of the rotary brush scrubbing toolis not confined to only commode surfaces, but its use is applicable to avariety of porcelain surfaces, such as are found elsewhere in a house ora place of business. In particular, such surfaces include a commodesurface, a bathtub surface, a sink, or a shower surface.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described,the invention may be modified and adapted to various operational methodsto those skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is not limited tothe description and figure shown herein, and includes all suchembodiments, changes, and modifications that are encompassed by thescope of the claims.

I claim:
 1. A rotary brush scrubbing tool for removing water hardnessbuildup on a porcelain surface comprising: A) an elongated outer holderwith a center line aligned in parallel with a rotating axis, whereinsaid elongated outer holder further comprises the following itemsconnected in sequence: 1) a motor connecting end, 2) a hollowed taperedshaft, 3) an outer cup, and 4) a water spray shroud shaped as a ring, B)a compression strengthening metal rod inserted into said hollowedtapered shaft, wherein an elongated axis of said compressionstrengthening metal rod is substantially aligned with said center lineand extends-through said outer cup, C) a fill epoxy that fills a spacebetween said compression strengthening metal rod and said outer cup, andadditionally fills a space between said compression strengthening metalrod and said hollowed tapered shaft, D) a disk shaped abrasive padadditionally bonded to said fill epoxy and inserted into said abrasivepad shroud, wherein a thickness direction of said disk shaped abrasivepad is substantially aligned with said rotating axis, E) wherein saiddisk shaped abrasive pad is made from butyl and incorporates apredetermined diamond grit size that is bonded to said disk shapedabrasive pad, F) wherein a flat surface of said disk shaped abrasive padis oriented perpendicular to said rotating axis, G) wherein said waterspray shroud partly encompasses a side surface of said disk shapedabrasive pad, and H) whereby the function of removing said waterhardness from said porcelain surface when pressing and rotating saidrotary brush scrubbing tool against said water hardness is added.
 2. Therotary brush scrubbing tool according to claim 1, wherein said hollowedtapered shaft having a tapered angle of about 12 degrees.
 3. A methodfor removing water hardness buildup on a porcelain surface comprising:A) providing a rotary brush scrubbing tool comprising: 1) an outerholder with a center line aligned in parallel with a rotating axis,wherein said outer holder further comprises the following itemsconnected in sequence: a) a motor connecting end, b) a hollowed taperedshaft, c) an outer cup, and d) a water spray shroud shaped as a ring, 2)a compressive strengthening metal rod inserted into said hollowedtapered shaft and extending through said outer cup, wherein an elongatedaxis of said compressive strengthening metal rod is substantiallyaligned to said rotating axis, 3) a fill epoxy that fills a spacebetween said strengthening rod and said outer cup, and additionallyfills a space between said compressive strengthening metal rod and saidhollowed tapered shaft, 4) a disk shaped abrasive pad additionallybonded to said fill epoxy and inserted into said abrasive pad shroud,wherein a thickness direction of said disk shaped abrasive pad issubstantially aligned with said rotating axis, 5) wherein said diskshaped abrasive pad is made from butyl and incorporates a predetermineddiamond grit size that is bonded to said disk shaped abrasive pad, 6)wherein a flat surface of said disk shaped abrasive pad is orientedperpendicular to said rotating axis, and 7) wherein said water sprayshroud partly encompasses a side surface of said disk shaped abrasivepad, B) connecting said rotary brush scrubbing tool to a motor, C)powering said motor, D) applying pressure between said rotary brushscrubbing tool and said water hardness buildup, E) lubricating saidwater hardness buildup with water when applying said rotary brushscrubbing tool to said water hardness buildup, and F) whereby thefunction of removing said water hardness from said porcelain surface isadded.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said hollowed taperedshaft having a tapered angle of about 12 degrees.